Proposed Cuts to Translink Services and Fare Discounts
Translink, Northern Ireland's public transport network operator, is considering reductions to some services and the removal of fare discounts as part of plans to achieve £10 million in savings.
These potential cuts would affect Metro, Ulsterbus, and NI Railways services, according to Translink's chief executive, Chris Conway, who addressed the Stormont infrastructure committee.
"It would be very disappointing and concerning for passengers," Conway acknowledged, "but these measures are necessary to protect Translink from a financially unsustainable position."
John Stewart, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) assembly member and deputy chair of the infrastructure committee, described the proposals as "deeply worrying."
During the committee meeting, Conway explained that the options are currently undergoing an equality screening process, with a consultation planned to begin shortly.
Although Translink is publicly owned, it operates independently from the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) at Stormont.
Conway highlighted funding challenges, stating that Translink's public service agreement has not received funding from DfI over the past few years, and that subsidies per passenger are significantly lower than those in other UK and Irish regions.
"We have made a loss of £23m in the 25/26 year and we made a loss in the previous year as well," he said.
"The early indications from the draft budget are that the public service agreement will continue to be underfunded, and that's what gives us most concern.
Therefore we are obliged to start the process of service reductions and the removal of fare discounts which are no longer affordable.
These options are going through an equality screening process at the minute and we will launch an equality impact assessment consultation on this shortly."
Targeted £10 Million Savings
Conway described the proposed changes as "very targeted service reductions aimed at generating savings but minimising the impact on passengers."
The plans include considering reductions in evening services, which typically have lower usage, and removing fare discounts for young people and families.
"We're targeting an additional £10m of savings," Conway said.
Conway, who is set to leave his position as chief executive soon, expressed regret over the proposals.
"I realise this is very disappointing and concerning news for many of our passengers and certainly in my last six weeks in Translink it's not something I wanted to bring to the committee.
It really is with much regret that we have to take these measures but they are pro-active measures to protect Translink from a financially unsustainable position."
He also noted that longer-term, broader network changes will be necessary to address ongoing funding shortfalls.
"And the future shape and size of the network will need further consultation," he added.
Impact of Fare Freezes and Funding Challenges
Peter Martin, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) assembly member and chair of the committee, questioned Conway about the effects of fare freezes imposed by the Department for Infrastructure.
Last month, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins announced that Translink fares would be frozen for the second consecutive year.
Conway explained that over the past nine years, there have been five fare freezes.
"Conservatively, those five fare freezes have cost us over £20m of revenue," he told the committee.
"So if you look at the gap that we have at the minute you can see that the cumulative effect of not having fare increases has an impact.
And that's something that needs to be considered in any funding."
